Jiyuu No Tsubasa
by Cinnabon-The-Almighty
Summary: A crucial mission outside the walls, and one goal that almost no one is aware of. Betrayal, hatred, and the tear between loyalty and doing what's right... And the Special Operations Squad is stuck in the middle of it.
1. Chapter 1- Fear

Zipping through the air, Petra looked behind her at the forest, a feeling of doubt rising in her chest. A few miles back, her squad had encountered 2 Titans, and the forest had remained quiet since then. It was too quiet for her, but she decided she would keep her mouth shut, for the sake of not putting everyone in false alarm. But still…something was off, but she didn't know what.

After a few more minutes, everyone had stopped to rest and regroup. As everyone else talked, she stood guard, trying to decide what was wrong. Suddenly, someone put their arm around her shoulder, pulling her closer.

"What's wrong?" Oluo asked, obviously trying to be the ladies man of the squad, yet again. Not hesitating to think, Petra pushed him away and gave him a dark look.

"Do that again, and I'm feeding you to the Titans," she said darkly, not wanting to be bothered. Oluo frowned, then moved to talk with the others, seeing that he was getting nowhere with her. Petra refocused on the canopy of the terrain, hearing Oluo talk loudly, probably about his bruised ego and how he had , yet again, failed to be the charming person he wanted to be. Petra then shook her head, shaking away her thoughts. Right now, she didn't need anyone near her that would disrupt her train of thought.

 _It's too quiet…. something must be up. I mean, Titans don't just attack and everything goes silent unless…._ Her eyes widened as she realized what was wrong. There were probably more Titans in the area, and possibly heading straight towards them.

As she turned around to tell the others, she saw a hooded figure heading towards the group. It appeared to be one of the greenhorns that had just recently joined the regiment, but something wasn't right. Why would one of the greenhorns approach the Special Operations Squad? Much less know where they were located in the formation? Unsheathing her blades, Petra advanced towards the figure while trying to predict what her opponent would do next.

"Petra! The hell-" Oluo began, but he didn't get to finish his sentence. There was a huge blast of steam, the force of it blowing Petra back, but she was still able to advance with some difficulty. A huge Titan emerged from the steam, appearing to be female, it's ice blue eyes piercing through the mist that had now settled on the forest floor.

After a few moments pause, the Titan's hand shot towards her with an unbelievable speed, threatening to smash her against the trees that stood behind her. Thankfully though, she maneuvered upwards, avoiding the intended death blow and retreated back next to Levi.

"Sir! Orders!" she shouted, containing her fear and remaining calm. Levi kept his gaze focused on the Female Titan, then responded after a moments silence.

"Protect Eren at all costs" he said calmly while drawing his blades from his gear. She nodded as he looked at her and began to engage the Titan, but Levi quickly grabbed her arm, stopping her from doing anything.

"Petra… be careful" he said quietly, then let her go. She gave Levi a small smile of determination, trying not to show that she was scared. Apparently, it was working, as far as she could tell.

"Since when am I not careful? I won't die Heichou, you have my word. I don't go down that easily" she responded with courage, her voice challenging the fate of what was to come. He nodded, a slight smile appearing on his face. Before they could say anything more to each other, Petra moved into action again, taking the female Titan head on.

As she approached it, she quickly plummeted a few feet to avoid the hand that reached out to grab her. As she descended, Petra then maneuvered forwards and slashed at the Titan's legs, but her blades shattered as it met a crystalline type substance covering it's skin.

 _Shit…_ she thought as the Titan caught sight of her and slowly grinned. Her eyes widened and tried to retreat as the female Titan raised her foot, but she was too slow. She closed her eyes and took a deep breath while trying to get her gear to move faster. Thankfully, she managed to escape the blow by a few centimeters since the Titan had misaimed, but she was blown backwards by the ferocity of the Titan's stomp.

Taking deep breaths, she calmly maneuvered towards the branches of the trees, and stopped to look at the situation.

Her squad was barely getting by with the skin of their teeth, Eren doing slightly worse than the rest of them. She saw him pause as the Titan was about to grab him, and hold up his hand to his mouth. For the slightest moment, she suspected that the Female Titan had intelligence and wanted Eren. That was probably the reason for why they were out here.

Petra put her thoughts aside and moved into action, going at full speed towards Eren. In the moments that followed, Petra quickly tackled Eren out of the way and maneuvered towards the trees with him in her arms. After hiding in the densely covered areas in the tree and putting Eren down, she turned back to look at him and crossed her arms, trying not to lose her cool.

"Eren…" she began, but wasn't able to finish her sentence. An idea immediately came to her, and she froze as she thought it over. Right now, it was the best alternative her squad needed. As she continued to think, Eren looked at her in confusion.

"Yes Petra-san? What's wrong?" he asked, taking a few steps toward her. She looked up at him and grabbed one of his shoulders.

"Eren… Do you trust me?" she asked as she looked directly into his eyes. He stared back at her, obviously not sure what to say, but he eventually nodded. Petra then let go of his shoulder and backed away a little, still keeping eye contact with Eren. She let silence settle between the both of them before speaking again.

"I have a plan… It's crazy, but I'm sure it'll work." she said confidently, then relayed her plan to Eren. As she spoke, Eren's eyes widened and immediately spoke as soon as she was finished.

"Petra, shouldn't we tell the others? We need time to regroup, to think-" he began to say, but she had heard enough already. Time was definitely something they didn't have.

"Eren, we don't have the time to regroup. Everyone is struggling to defeat that thing, and we need quick actions instead of a well thought out plan. This is the best shot we have in short circumstances. And we can't tell the others, am I understood?" she asked, her voice a bit harsh. She didn't want to be too abrasive, yet she didn't want to be taken lightly either.

Eren nodded and got ready to engage the female Titan and looked back at her.

"When do we proceed Petra-san?" Eren asked, obviously reluctant to do anything, but yet understood that this was their only option at the moment. Petra closed her eyes for a second and took a deep breath.

"Now" She whispered, signaling Eren to move towards the Titan.


	2. Chapter 2- Betrayal

Scanning the area, Levi looked for Petra and Eren amongst the chaos of the battle between his squad and the female Titan. They were all barely getting by, and several members of the squad were hurt. Yet, they still continued to fight, refusing to lose or give up.

"Damn it… Where are you guys?" he said under his breath, looking around then to see Eren advancing towards the female Titan. His eyes narrowed, seeing Eren slashing at the Titan then retreating back to the trees to emerge a few seconds later with his cloak on.

That damned kid was going to get them all killed if he continued to distract the female Titan. The whole point of the Special Operations Squad wasn't only to keep tabs on Eren, but to protect him… even if it meant their lives. And obviously Eren wasn't getting the memo at the moment as everyone was trying to draw it away from him.

Levi advanced towards the Titan once more at an unbelievable speed, but it's attention was fully directed towards Eren. It's skin turned into the crystalline structure once again, his blades shattering immediately on contact. He cursed out loud before retreating again, quickly checking his squad's condition. Gunther and Eld seemed fine with minor injuries, Oluo was severely hurt, gashes covering his back and stomach, and Petra was no where to be seen.

 _Where are you?_ he thought, his eyes narrowing as he saw Eren going further and further from them. Just then he heard the sound of a 3DMG, turning towards the sound he saw what had to be Petra coming towards them. He sighed in relief, thankful that she was okay and unhurt, a bit of his feelings for her getting in the way of his main concerns.

As she continued to come towards them, his eyes narrowed as he realized something about her was off. He immediately went on guard, drawing a pair of new blades. Everyone saw his motion and did the same, except for Oluo.

The cloaked figure landed next to him and took the hood off, everyone's eyes widening in surprise as they saw who it was.

"Eren?!" they all said at the same time, worry and unrest replacing the adrenaline the entire squad had felt before. Levi quickly put his arm out to stop Oluo from injuring himself further, and to try and restore calm.

"Where is she?! You left her to face that damned thing… ALONE?!" Oluo shouted angrily, pushing Levi out of the way and limping towards Eren.

"Oluo, calm down and rest. You're going to hurt yourself more if you continue what you're doing" he said, giving up the peaceful approach and restraining him. Thankfully, Oluo didn't fight to break free of his grasp, but he still continued to yell.

"I SWEAR I'M GOING TO RIP YOU TO SHREDS YEAGER. YOU'LL WISH YOU WERE NEVER EVEN FUCKING BORN! I'LL FEED YOU TO THE FUCKING TITANS MYSELF IF THAT'S WHAT IT TAKES YOU ASSHOLE! I DON'T CARE IF YOU CAN TURN YOURSELF INTO ONE! I'M GOING TO FUCKING MURDER YOU! " Oluo yelled, now beginning to struggle from Levi's grasp. His eyes were burning with fury and as Levi looked down at his uniform, he saw that fresh blood had stained his uniform, and it was probably Oluo's.

"PETRA'S GOING TO DIE BECAUSE OF YOU YEAGER!" he started to scream, going into hysterics. Already, Levi had heard enough of what Oluo was saying and quickly found a pressure point, pressing hard. He emitted a yelp then went limp in Levi's arms, and he quickly laid him down, a bit worried. The heat coming from him was intense and he was losing blood.

"Damn…. Anyone else have any comments?" he asked menacingly as he looked back at the rest of his squad, "Petra is a capable soldier, and she's dealt with these types of situations before. She trusts all of us, even the brat over there… So I suggest getting your acts together."

Eld and Gunther nodded, their faces grim but determined. He looked at them for a few moments before turning around and glaring at Eren. He walked towards him and pulled him to his feet, showing no emotion as Eren yelped in protest.

"You better hope this goes according to your plan Yeager… If it doesn't.. I'll deal with you personally" he said scathingly. He then pushed Eren away and looked in the direction Petra went in, remembering what she said to him.

 _Stay safe Petra… Keep your promise_ he thought towards her, the wind starting to pick up, the forest groaning in protest of the battle that was ensuing.


	3. Chapter 3- Unrest

Petra raced through the forest, her heart pounding heavily as she tried to figure out a way to get rid of the female Titan. Only several minutes had passed since she had switched places with Eren; her gear was going as fast as it would go and already the female Titan was hot on her trail.

She immediately changed her direction and banked sharply to her right, the velocity of the change in direction making her slightly nauseous. Still she continued forwards, knowing that stopping would mean her untimely demise.

Petra looked above and maneuvered upwards, flinging herself into the air over the Titan, slashing swiftly at its right shoulder. Yet again, it was no use. Her blades shattered immediately as they came in contact with its toughened skin, the shards exploding into the air. As she moved forwards, she braced herself as she drew a new pair of blades, crying out in pain as one of the shards cut into her leg.

Tears had managed to run down her cheeks, her vision becoming blurred as she was moving back towards the direction of her squad. The wind had now started to pick up, blowing her slightly off course and towards the dense cover of the trees, the forest groaning in protest as the female Titan still persisted to chase after her.

Her vision was starting to clear, but not at the rate she would have liked, especially at the speed she was going. It was dangerous to be using her gear at such a high velocity, and with her vision still blurry, the risks had increased.

The wind had picked up considerably, the groaning and creaking of the trees steadily increasing as the female Titan was now dangerously close to her. A feeling of dread was rising in her chest as she got ready to face the Titan again, only one last pair of blades remaining. The wind then pushed her to the left in a sudden gust just as a giant fist crashed into the place where she once was, splinters of wood bursting into the air.

The force of the intended blow and the wind pushed her into the dense cover of the trees, slowing herself down and eventually stopping to hide herself from the Titan. Petra then quickly got her cloak, turned it inside out and wrapped herself in it as to make herself blend in with the canopy of the forest. Hopefully it would work, and if it didn't… She was as good as dead.

She prayed silently that the female Titan wouldn't spot her, it's footsteps approaching where she was located. They got closer and closer, until they finally stopped right next to where she was. Petra cried silently, whispering goodbyes to the people she cared about. Her parents, Oluo, Eld, Gunther, Eren, Levi… she would never get to see them again, not unless the Titan went away.

Petra kept still, her body aching as she sat rigidly, trying her best to make no movements. The female Titan eventually stalked away after a few minutes of searching. Petra exhaled heavily, not knowing that she was even holding her breath. She kept still for a few more minutes before shakily standing up, checking how much gas she had left.

She grimaced as she read 1/4th on the fuel gage, but thankfully it was enough to get her back to her squad and refuel. She took off immediately at a moderate pace, not wanting to delay any longer. She had done what any of the squad would have done in that situation (Hopefully. She wasn't so sure about Oluo… God, he was annoying), and thankfully, she had gotten out of there alive. Now all that was left was to apologize and get the hell out of there. Eren was in danger still and the regiment couldn't risk losing their best chance at saving humanity.

Despite all of her thoughts, she was hopefully getting closer to where she had left from, knowing that her squad would be there unless things escalated to where they had no choice but to leave. She highly doubted it, but it was possible considering they were outside the Wall. Petra continued to think as she absentmindedly watched her surroundings, suddenly hearing someone to call out to her.

"Hey Petra! Over here!" Eld called, making her look in his direction as she passed by where he was. "Ack…" she grumbled, chiding herself for being so oblivious. She changed her direction and doubled back to where Eld was, seeing that he and the rest of the squad were approximately 15 feet away from her. Her mood lightened and she pressed her gear to go faster, deciding to yell back as she quickly approached them. "Got any fuel or not?! Kinda running on low here!" She began to smile, thankful that she had gotten back safely to the squad, unharmed and eager to go home. Maybe when they got back, they could all get a beer.

Oh how wrong she was

Bursting through the tree's was the female Titan, making a mad dash towards her with a sadistic grin. She quickly pulled upwards and out of the reach of the Titan, but it was clear that it wasn't going to let her get away this time. It had followed her movements and jabbed at her again, and thankfully she had dodged… but her gear was running on fumes.

Petra looked back to see where her squad was positioned, and thankfully they were right behind her. Levi had taken the lead, Eld and gunther in the middle, and Eren in the back. Oluo must have been hurt (he deserved it for all his boasting), thus they had to get away from his location. But soon enough, he had joined Eren in the rear, intent on joining the rest of them.

She would have said something that was along the lines of a thank you, but the impending problem of life or certain death hung in the balance, so she had to make do with a short nod and had somehow made a very good distance between her and the others within a short few moments. How that was possible, she didn't know… Unless..

She immediately reduced her speed, drawing her last pair of blades and replacing her calm demeanor with one of pure rage and malice. She was tired of this and wasn't going to stand for it. Petra was usually the calm and nicer person of the group, but when she was angry... Well, you wouldn't want to be around her, and you certainly wouldn't want to be around her at this particular time.

Petra maneuvered towards a nearby tree and used it to do a backflip, quickly getting close and slashing at it's eyes. They had about one to two minutes before it could open it's eyes again, so the window of opportunity was slim, but she was sure they could kill the female Titan in the amount of time that they had. After all, they weren't called the Special Operations squad for nothing.

The female Titan immediately covered its nape and leaned against a tree, trying to guard the person inside. She was sure the rest of the squad had come to this conclusion as well, but said nothing about it as she headed towards the others.

"What the hell are you guys doing?! Can we kill this god damned thing already?" she asked angrily. Truthfully behind her anger, she was scared out of her mind. This titan was bent on getting Eren and killing her, and possibly the rest of the squad. Who knew what would happen if they approached it? Well, they would either be eaten or smashed.. but she was sure they could get out alive.

"We should cut the tendons around her arms so we can reach her nape, then at least try to kill the Titan… Her eyes will heal in about.. 1 minute..? So lets hurry. Petra, can you go for her eyes again?" Eld asked, obviously trying to buy them all some more time. She nodded and sped ahead of the group, slashing at it's eyes again furiously then retreating as Gunther and Eld went for the tendons around her shoulders.

It seemed like they had everything in the bag, and she couldn't wait to get home. After Gunther and Eld slashed the tendons, she approached the female Titan and got ready to deliver the death blow, but what happened next was most unexpected. One of the female Titan's eyes were already here when they had at least 1 more minute left, and it's left arm was completely healed.

Her eyes widened and she tried to pull away, but she couldn't, she was moving too fast. Her heart practically leapt out of her chest as the Female Titan grabbed the cable from her gear out of it's neck and held her close to it's face. The same sadistic smile came across it's face and the world around her had faded, time had slowed drastically. Petra knew the squad was having a fit, yelling and screaming and trying to approach the already moving Titan, but she knew it was over for her. She managed to look back and everyone, not being able to contain the fear in her eyes, but overall managed to give them a smile.

"Goodbye.." she whispered to herself, knowing no one would be able to hear her even if she tried to say it out loud. Slowly, the female Titan began to spin her around using the cable it held in it's hand, and Petra managed to curl herself into a ball as the speed began to increase. If it didn't stop she would hurl.

Finally the Titan had gotten bored of twirling her around, and threw her as hard as it could into the forest.

Her scream rang out through the air and echoed through the dense canopy, dread quickly sweeping in. Everyone stopped, rage replacing the dread, starting to take over the squad. Petra was dead, and the female Titan was going to pay for it.


End file.
